


happy birthday, granddad

by plinth_of_life



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Established Relationship, M/M, One Shot, Real Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-18
Updated: 2019-08-18
Packaged: 2020-09-07 01:04:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,309
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20300902
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/plinth_of_life/pseuds/plinth_of_life
Summary: As Phil works on his next video, Dan leaves London and heads to his granddad's 80th birthday celebration. Thoughts of coffee, weddings, and handshakes ensue.Based on Dan's stories and tweets from August 18th, 2019





	happy birthday, granddad

Dan always felt off when he traveled alone. Navigating the attention that could come with his public appearance and avoiding speculation about his every action was so much more difficult without Phil by his side. Now that they weren’t so concerned about subtle displays of affection, Phil’s companionship was only a benefit to Dan. He was a second set of eyes scanning for strangers who knew their faces. His ability to tell a joke or start a conversation at the exact moment that Dan needed a distraction from his worries was impeccable. His hand holding Dan’s during a long car ride was always a grounding source of comfort. But Dan knew that bringing Phil along on this trip would only cause more anxiety and confusion. At his granddad’s 80th birthday party, Phil would be acknowledged as little more than a friendly housemate. Besides, Phil was still spending long hours at his computer editing his new video, trying to ignore the pleas of his fans that were spread across just about every social media platform. So, when the time came to leave, Dan stepped into the office to say goodbye to his partner.

“I have to head out, babe. You better not be working on this the whole time that I’m gone, alright?” Dan said as he approached Phil, placing his hands on the back of the leather chair and leaning over to kiss the top of Phil’s head.

“I don’t know if you’ve checked Twitter lately but I do need to prevent millions of people from having a mental breakdown this weekend. Don’t worry, I’ll make plenty of time for you tonight, darling. Love you,” Phil responded, looking at Dan with a small smile, trying to conceal the stress evident in his facial features.

“Love you too. Looking forward to this quality time you’re promising me.” Dan winked and headed out of the office, grabbing his messenger bag and phone as he walked out the front door.

Feeling sluggish and lonely upon going outside, Dan decided to stop by AMT Coffee before leaving London. He was reminded of Phil when he saw what looked to be a coffee-flavoured milkshake on the menu and felt compelled to try it. Upon taking a sip of the thick sugary beverage, he knew this was the kind of drink he needed today. Once he walked over to where the car he called was waiting for him and climbed into the back seat, he took a picture of the drink for his Instagram story. He figured that the rabid fans needed something to tide them over, even if a review of the ‘frofee’ wasn’t nearly as exciting as the video Phil was about to release. Dan turned his phone off once the photo was posted and leaned back into his seat, staring out the window and trying to find a little peace in this moment. His life had been so busy for the past two months since coming out, attending VidCon, traveling with Phil and his family, and dealing with his own family that moments of quiet reflection were so rare now. He purposefully ignored the internet and any intrusive thoughts it would bring for the next hour, choosing to take in the passing English countryside instead.

Stepping out of the car, he was surprised to find the venue empty, shocked that he was finally early to an event. He double-checked the time and realized that the party would not be starting for another half hour. Though he claimed to have very logical reasoning skills, he couldn’t help but feel like he had been gifted with another moment of calm in the midst of his hectic life. Dan decided to take a stroll around the park, spotting the union jack flying proudly and chuckling at how British the scenery really was. He headed towards a patch of bright yellow flowers that had caught his attention. His hand instinctively reached for his phone to take a picture of his surroundings. He remembered that he turned his phone off with intention but figured that a quick addition to his story wouldn’t distract him too much. He snapped a picture of the landscape and posted it, hoping that sharing his whereabouts wouldn’t cause any trouble. Dan tucked his phone back in his pocket and looked back at the dozens of white tables, chairs, and umbrellas before him.

_What a nice place for a wedding... _

He stepped back, trying to shake the thought out of his head. However, his imagination latched on to the notion faster than he could control and soon he was lost in a daydream.

_I hold Phil’s hand tightly, staring at the beautiful ring on his finger. It’s official, he really is mine now. I hear a loud clinking rhythm and turn my head toward the sound. It’s Martyn, standing up and preparing to give a toast. Cornelia is next to him, just as radiant as ever. I sweep my eyes across the scene and all I can do is smile at the field filled with people happily mingling. Kath and my mum are engaged in conversation and Adrian is meeting Bryony for the first time. Colin is happily prancing around, a little bowtie attached to his collar. I look back at Phil, who had been gazing at me this whole time. I see tears begin to form in his eyes and his pale cheeks are turning pink. My husband’s smile is lighting up the whole venue and I don’t think I’ll ever be able to look away… _

“Daniel! It’s so nice to see you again!” Dan’s mum, Karen, yelled as she ran up to him. She was no longer chatting with Kathryn Lester and wearing a posh evening gown. Instead, she was alone, in a respectable sundress, smiling at her dazed son. Dan, still trying to escape his fantasy, gave his mum a quick embrace before sitting down to prevent him from fainting on top of her. Karen sat beside him and began going on about the weather in typical British fashion. Soon, more guests began to arrive. Dan greeted his brother, cousins, aunts, uncles, grandma and the guest of honor, his granddad.

The conversations sounded the same as they always do at family gatherings but Dan knew a certain topic was coming up sooner or later. It was only a matter of time until—

“Did you bring my iPad?” Dan’s grandma asked.

“W- What?” Dan was still in a bit of a daze, partially brought on by the sugar and caffeine overload from his drink earlier that day.

“The one I mentioned in my email, dear. It was in the correspondence surrounding your announcement,” she replied, speaking as formally as ever.

“Oh, right… yes, it's right here,” Dan said, pulling the tablet out of his bag.

"Thank you, dear! I missed having it these past two months..." Dan tried to ignore her kind yet passive-aggressive response.

"Why don't you and I take a picture with it? My followers will want to know I gave it to you," he said, realizing she had no idea how many people wanted Dan to be a responsible grandson.

They took a cute selfie and Dan hoped the diversion would be enough to change the topic of conversation so he wouldn’t have to go into further detail about his ‘announcement’ but he was never one for small talk so he chose to say nothing instead. The silence was finally broken by a woman to his left. She looked elderly, even older than his grandma. He was slightly taken aback when she began speaking as her distinctly American-adjacent accent cut through the murmur of soft posh voices surrounding them.

“Your popsie told me about your announcement, Daniel. We’re all very proud of you, you know,” she spoke with a kind voice, but Dan’s confusion about her presence took his focus away from the sentiment. His puzzled expression must have been obvious enough for her to notice as she continued speaking.

“Popsie and I have been friends for many years. I lived next door to your grandparents when I first moved here from Canada. Anyways, enough about me, what an exciting time for you! Are you seeing anyone now that you’ve stated your preferences?”

Dan held back a groan at the mention of the dreaded but unavoidable topic. He deliberately left out any mention of Phil in his email since he still wasn’t comfortable sharing his personal life with even his own family, let alone his audience, and most of the family spoke about Dan’s housemate of eight years with a wink anyways.

“No, I’m not planning on going on a proper date any time soon,” Dan replied. This was technically true since he and Phil avoided any sort of public date night. Ordering a takeaway and watching TV in their flat was satisfying enough and didn’t involve any potential internet fiascos.

Luckily, the conversation shifted from there. He told the woman more about his video and attempted to explain what he did for a living in a way that an octogenarian could understand. They ended up bonding over feeling different from everyone around them, since she was still getting used to British culture and he was still getting used to being an out gay man. Their conversation went on for about 45 minutes but ended abruptly as the cake began to be passed out. The woman stood up from her chair and stood in front of Dan. He awkwardly stood up in response and looked down at her, amused by the significant height difference.

“I think I should get going. No time for cake, I suppose! It was a pleasure to meet you, Daniel,” she said, smiling and sticking out her hand.

Dan, afraid of crushing the frail hand half the size of his own, gently grasped it and gave it a quick shake. Suddenly, the woman’s face became cross and her wrinkles deepened.

“Sorry, but you need to have a firmer handshake or no one will respect you, dear,” she sneered at him and swiftly turned around, retreating with a huff.

Dan stood there in shock, unable to move or speak for what must have been at least a full minute. The day kept getting stranger and he wanted nothing more but to grab a slice of cake and go home to tell Phil all about what happened. When he finally recovered from the old woman’s strange attack on his masculinity, something he already had little desire to uphold, he took a piece of cake from the buffet table and sat down next to his mum. As she continued her friendly yet inane brand of chit-chat, Dan snapped a picture of the cake as a final addition to his story and made a note to tweet about the handshake incident later that evening.

As soon as he finished his cake, called a car, and said his brief goodbyes, avoiding handshakes at all costs, he headed back to London and tried to return to his earlier state of peace.

_No one will respect you. You aren’t enough of a man to be respected. Your whole family knew you were gay before you told them, it’s just so obvious. Even your handshake is gay. _

Dan clapped his hands to his ears and closed his eyes. He wished his years of homophobic trauma didn’t have such a strong effect on him now that he was out but the occassional comment could still bring back a terrifying thought spiral. At this point, he’d rather be thinking about his wedding instead. In fact, he’d been thinking about it a lot lately. Now that he and Phil were both open about their sexual orientation and most of their viewers could pick up on enough hints to know that they were together, marriage seemed like more of a possibility now. They were already planning on buying their ‘forever home’ in the near future and getting a dog soon after. Dan wasn’t sure whether he needed to be married to Phil to complete his domestic vision but at least he was more hopeful that they could do it without too much pushback now.

As he tried to decide what color of flowers he and Phil would agree on, the car suddenly stopped and he realized he was home. His hypothetical wedding was enough to distract him after all. Now, he just needed to see his hypothetical husband.

Dan returned to the flat and headed straight for the office, knowing Phil would still be there. After promising a video this weekend, the remaining edits were now being done on a time crunch this Sunday evening.

He walked up to the leather chair and pressed a kiss to Phil’s cheek.

“Hi, baby. Did you miss me or have you been sitting here for so long that you didn’t even notice I was gone?” Dan smirked and gently took Phil’s hand away from the mouse.

“Yes, yes, I missed you so much. Now let me keep working on this, I only have a few more hours left before it’ll be too late to post.” Phil replied curtly.

“Alright, alright, but you promised to give me some quality time so I’ll be waiting in the bedroom for when you’re finally ready to deliver,” he winked as Phil rolled his eyes with a smile.

Dan headed to the bedroom to catch up on social media while he waited for his workaholic partner. He finally tweeted about the handshake, enjoyed some gay content on Instagram to make up for it, posted the selfie with his grandma and her iPad, and started looking through wedding venues on Pinterest because he was in a certain mood. It was all he could do to recover from the physical and mental journey he went on today. He hoped Popsie’s next birthday wouldn’t be so strange.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I wrote this to pass the time as I've been anxiously waiting for Phil's video. I thought it would be fun to write a story about what Dan's day must have been like based on what he has posted. Feel free to leave any feedback in the comments <3


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